In the Willard patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,949 issued Nov. 11, 1958, there is disclosed a forward discharging transit concrete mixer which embodies the general advantage of making a pour within the direct view of the operator located in the cab. The advantages of this type of system have been proved in many hundreds of units which are now in operation throughout the U.S. What is needed, however, is a means for retracting the chute during transit between mixer station and job site so that the chute will not obstruct the view of the driver. But at the time the pour is made, there is needed a ready and convenient means whereby the chute can be extended and controlled angularly so that the site of the pour can be accurately determined by controls available to the operator within the cab. Thus, when the operator reaches the point where the pour is to be made, he has available to him various controls within the cab which will extend the chute, position the chute and he can then proceed by moving both the truck and the chute to accurately pinpoint where the discharging concrete should be laid.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and different control mechanism whereby the hinged extension chute can be remotely extended from a retracted, out-of-the-way position which is not obstructive to the view of the driver in the cab and which at the same time is susceptible to easy and reliable operation whereby the chute can be extended and retracted.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a chute control consisting of a relatively few number of parts which are rugged (it being understood that these component parts of the chute are exposed to rough handling at job sites where parts are exposed to damage) and which can function to remotely position the chute.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple actuating mechanism whereby the chute can be moved from retracted to fully extended position and permit the chute to be swung both in an arc and in both a vertical and horizontal sense to maximize the controlability and positioning of the chute to a precise discharge location.
An overall object of the present invention is to provide a cam and cam follower combination which is actuated by a fluid motor actuator so that the cam will be extended from the hydraulic cylinder into engagement with the cam follower portion on the chute to effect its 180.degree. movement about a hinge from a first position wherein it is folded against the one chute section, to a second position wherein it becomes joined end to end with the first chute section and is held in such extended position by a lock formed between the two chute sections.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.